Bottle with center pour opening, contoured handle, and contoured profile for interlock during stacking/transport

ABSTRACT

A container for fluid product includes a one piece body having first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, an upper surface and a lower surface. Two of the sidewalls have non-linear, parallel conformations that each include a convex surface portion that merges into an adjacent concave surface portion for abutting engagement between adjacent containers and limit sliding movement of the abutting containers relative to one another in a layer of a stacked array of containers. The upper and lower surfaces have a center pour opening and a recessed region, respectively, which cooperate to limit sliding movement of adjacent containers relative to one another in a layer of the stacked array. A handle is formed at least in part by a cylindrical portion that is dimensioned to conform to a generally C-shape contour formed by a user&#39;s thumb and index finger when the fingers of a user&#39;s hand are stretched and shaped over a virtual hemispherical surface, and a circumferential region of the cylindrical portion of the handle tangentially merges into one of the sidewalls.

This application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No.15/095,843, filed Apr. 11, 2016, which claims the priority benefit ofU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/145,183, filed Apr. 9, 2015,the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to fluid containers (also commonlyreferred to as bottles), and more particularly to bottles that, forexample, are typically plastic and blow molded as a one-piece, unitarybody having an opening through which fluid contents are introduced intoand poured from the bottle.

Consumers have a comfort level with a bottle that has a center pouropening formed therein. Advantageously, such a bottle is also adaptableto a traditional filler, for example, of the type commonly used in thedairy industry. It is well-known that milk bottles have conventionallyused a center pour opening dating back to glass bottle designs, and thatthe center pour opening design has been carried through into present-dayplastic milk bottles that are widely used in the industry.

In a continued attempt to reduce costs associated with packaging,delivery, etc., a need exists for a bottle design that has desiredattributes not associated with the conventional packaging of individualcontainers/bottles into cases (where cases are used to carry thestacking forces or load, rather than modifying the bottle to itselfcarry and transfer load), and a large number of bottles can be easilystacked (such as on pallets), that potentially eliminates use of slipsheets, and that still mimics the comfort and feel associated with acenter pour bottle. Still other desired features may include a cap thathas a breakaway tamper evident band, elimination of a foil seal, theability to fill on a traditional filler, provision for enlarged surfaceson the bottle to maximize the amount of information that may be conveyedto the consumer, a desire to interlock adjacent bottles, an ergonomichandle, and the ability to palletize filled bottles to take advantage ofreduced shipping costs.

SUMMARY

A new container for fluid product satisfies one or more of the needsidentified above.

In one embodiment, the container includes a one piece body having first,second, third, and fourth sidewalls, an upper surface and a lowersurface, the first and third sidewalls separated by the second andfourth sidewalls, the second and fourth sidewalls having non-planar,parallel conformations that each include a convex surface portion thatmerges into an adjacent concave surface portion.

The container further includes a handle formed at least in part by acylindrical portion that is dimensioned to conform to a generallyC-shaped contour formed by a user's thumb and index finger when thefingers of a user's hand are stretched and shaped over a virtualhemispherical surface.

A circumferential region of the cylindrical portion of the handle mergestangentially into the fourth sidewall.

The handle further includes recesses or depressions formed in the firstand third sidewalls that are spaced inwardly from the fourth sidewall.

The handle may be a no pass structure.

The convex first portion and the concave second portion on the secondsidewall are opposite from the concave first portion and the convexsecond portion on the fourth sidewall, respectively, whereby adjacent,like containers interlock against relative sliding movement in adirection oriented between the upper and lower surfaces, i.e., theconvex first portion of the second sidewall of a first container mateswith the concave first portion of the fourth sidewall of an adjacentsecond container, and the concave second portion of the second sidewallof the first container mates with the convex second portion of thefourth sidewall of the second container.

The recessed region in the lower surface is dimensioned to at leastpartially receive a center pour opening or cap of the upper surface ofan adjacent like container whereby abutting upper and lower surfaces ofadjacent, like containers interlock against relative sliding movement ina direction oriented between the second and fourth sidewalls.

Adjacent containers may be arranged in layers and layers stacked oneatop another by laying individual containers on either the first andthird sidewalls where at least two laterally adjacent containersinterlock along abutting second and fourth sidewalls, respectively, andat least two longitudinally adjacent containers interlock along theupper and lower surfaces.

At least some of the individual containers in contiguous layers ofstacked containers are oriented 90 degrees relative to one another.

The containers in a stacked array are each pressurized.

The upper surface is laterally offset from the bottom surface of anindividual container.

The circumferential region of the cylindrical portion of the handle thattangentially merges into the fourth sidewall is located in that portionof the fourth sidewall that has a convex contour.

The handle is formed at least in part by a cylindrical portion that isdimensioned to conform to a generally C-shape contour formed by a user'sthumb and index finger when the fingers of a user's hand are stretchedand shaped over a virtual hemispherical surface.

Benefits are provided by a bottle that has a center pour opening formedtherein, and therefore adaptable to be filled on a traditional filler,while still offering the benefits of stackability without the use ofcases for purposes of shipping.

Another benefit is the ability to use a cap that has a breakaway tamperevident band and eliminates use of a foil seal.

Another advantage resides in the enlarged surfaces provided on thebottle to maximize the amount of information that may be conveyed to theconsumer.

Still another advantage is associated with the ability to interlockadjacent bottles in a layer of a stacked array.

Yet another benefit is found in the provision of an ergonomic handle.

Still another benefit is associated with elimination of the cardboard orcorrugate slip layer oftentimes used in connection with stacked productswhich reduces, cost, reduces waste, reduces associated handling andthereby reduces labor costs, and eliminates issues encountered in theprior art where the slip layer becomes moist or wet and loses itsstrength.

A still further advantage results from a shorter unbraced length as aresult of orienting the containers on their sides when the containersare stacked in layers one atop another.

Yet another advantage is the low weight to volume ratio (e.g., 96 ouncecontainer uses only 90 grams of PET—less than 0.94 g/oz) which isapproximately one-third that of other plastic containers used in themarket.

Other benefits and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from reading and understanding the following detaileddescription

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the new bottle of the present disclosurewith a cap received thereon.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the bottle of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the perimeter contour of the bottle ofFIGS. 1-2 with the cap removed.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the right hand side of the bottle ofFIGS. 1-2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle of FIGS. 1-2 takengenerally along the lines B-B of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the bottle of FIGS. 1-2 takengenerally along the lines C-C of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a view of first and second bottles shown in side-by-siderelation and illustrating the mating contour of opposite sides ofadjacent bottles that limits relative sliding movement in a firstdirection between abutting bottles in a layer of a stacked array.

FIG. 8 is a view of the first and second bottles shown in the stackedarray and illustrating the mating contour of adjacent bottles thatlimits relative sliding movement in a second direction between abuttingbottles in the layer.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of filled, like bottles shown in thestacked array on a shipping member such as a pallet.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the stacked array of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the stacked array of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a bottle having similar attributes ofthe bottle of FIG. 1 but a larger volume.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of filled, like bottles of FIG. 12 shownin the stacked array on a shipping member such as a pallet.

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of the stacked array of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning initially to FIGS. 1-6, there is shown a bottle 100 that ispreferably a unitary, one-piece body having first, second, third, andfourth sidewalls or sidewall portions 102, 104, 106, 108 and a first,upper wall or surface 110 and a second, lower wall or surface 112. Thefirst and third sidewalls 102, 106 are separated by the second andfourth sidewalls 104, 108 (sometimes referred to herein as the front andrear sidewalls). The second and fourth sidewalls 104, 108 havenon-planar, substantially parallel conformations as perhaps bestillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The conformation of the second sidewall104 includes a convex surface portion 120 that merges into an adjacentconcave surface portion 122. More particularly, the convex surfaceportion 120 on the second sidewall 104 includes a first convex surfaceportion 120 a and a second convex surface portion 120 b. The concavesurface portion 122 interconnects the spaced apart convex surfaceportions 120 a, 120 b in a generally smoothly contoured, reverse-curvedsurface or S-curve conformation. The first convex surface portion 120 aalso smoothly merges into the bottom surface 112. The concave surfaceportion 122 is located approximately mid-height of the overall height ofthe bottle 100, and the second convex surface portion 120 b of thesecond sidewall smoothly merges into the upper surface 110.

The fourth sidewall 108 includes a convex surface portion 124 and aconcave surface portion 126. As illustrated, the convex surface portion124 of the fourth sidewall 108 includes a first convex surface portion124 a and a second convex surface portion 124 b. The concave surfaceportion 126 interconnects the spaced apart convex surface portions 124a, 124 b in a generally smoothly contoured, reverse-curved surface orS-curve conformation. The first convex surface portion 124 a smoothlymerges into the bottom surface 112. The concave surface portion 126 ofthe fourth sidewall 108 is located below the mid-height of the overallheight of the bottle 100, and the second convex surface portion 120 4Bsmoothly merges into the upper surface 110.

As is perhaps most apparent in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the cross-sectionalviews of FIGS. 5 and 6, an upper portion of the bottle 100 is laterallyoffset relative to a lower portion of the bottle. More particularly, theportions of the bottle 100 that extend above the mid-height of thebottle, for example associated with the first convex portion 120 b ofthe second sidewall 104 and the second convex portion 124 b of thefourth sidewall 108, are shifted rearwardly (rightwardly as shown inFIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6) relative to the lower portion of the bottlegenerally defined by the first convex portion 120 a of the secondsidewall and the first convex surface portion 124 a of the fourthsidewall 108. As a result, the second and fourth sidewalls 104, 108 canbe described as having non-planar, parallel conformations where each ofthe second and fourth sidewalls includes a convex surface portion thatmerges into an adjacent concave surface portion, and in each instanceincludes first and second convex surface portions that merge intoopposite ends of the concave surface portion, respectively.

The contours of the first and third sidewalls 102, 106 are moreparticularly evident in FIGS. 4-6. The first and third sidewalls 102,106 have large planar regions 140, 142, respectively, over substantialportions thereof. The planar regions 140, 142 smoothly merge into thesecond and fourth sidewalls 104, 108 of the bottle structure,particularly along the upper and lower portions of the sidewalls. Anergonomic handle 150 is formed partially in the first and thirdsidewalls 102, 106, and also along the fourth sidewall 108. A mainportion of the handle 150 has a substantially cylindrical conformation152 and a portion 154 of the cylindrical conformation merges into thefourth sidewall 108. At a diametrical portion 156 of the handle 150opposite the portion 154 that merges into the fourth sidewall, the firstand third sidewalls 102, 106 have recessed or depressed regions 158,160, respectively, that extend inwardly from the substantially planarregions 140, 142, respectively, toward one another. The depressedregions 158, 160 are formed in the first and third sidewalls 102, 106and are spaced inwardly (i.e., toward the second sidewall 104) from thefourth sidewall 108. It is contemplated that in a preferred arrangement,the depressed regions 158, 160 are generally parallel to one another,and form a “no pass structure”, i.e., no through opening is formedinwardly of the diametrical portion 156 of the generally cylindricalconformation 152 of the handle 150. The circumferential region 154 ofthe cylindrical portion 152 of the handle 150 that tangentially mergesinto the fourth sidewall 108 is located in that portion of the fourthsidewall that has a convex contour 124 b.

The unique configuration or shape of the handle 150 is dimensioned toconform to a generally C-shaped contour formed by a user's thumb andindex finger when the fingers of a user's hand are stretched and shapedover a virtual hemispherical surface. Thus, the thumb and index finger(as well as the remaining fingers) are received over the cylindricalconformation portion 152 of the handle 150. The palm of the user's handis received over the circumferential region 154 of the handle, andlikewise conforms to the convex contour 124 b of the handle definedalong the fourth sidewall 108. The fingers and thumb of the user gripthe handle 150 along the cylindrical conformation 152 disposed in eachof the first and third sidewalls 140, 142, respectively (or in the thirdand first sidewalls 142, 140, respectively, —depending on whether theuser grips the handle 150 with the right or left hand). Interconnectingportions 170, 172 of the first and third sidewalls 102, 104 each have acompound, curvilinear conformation in a generally horizontal plane(FIGS. 1-2, and particularly FIGS. 5-6) where the sidewall curvesoutwardly from the respective depressed regions 158, 160 toward thesecond sidewall 104 where the curvilinear conformation smoothly mergesinto the large planar regions 140, 142, respectively. In addition, thecompound curvilinear conformation 170, 172 includes a curve 174extending in a generally vertical direction (FIGS. 1-2) that extendsgenerally parallel to the tangential region 154 of the handle that isformed in the fourth sidewall 108.

The upper wall 110 has an arch shape where the respective sidewalls 102,104, 106, 108 merge together. The upper wall includes an opening 180located centrally therein. This is advantageous for at least a couple ofreasons. First, the central opening 180 can be used with many existingfillers that already are commercially installed and widely used in theindustry. Second, the central opening 180 is a pour location thatconsumers are accustomed to and have used for a long period of time. Theconsumer is comfortable with how fluid pours from the opening 180, andneed not re-train themselves to grow accustomed to other locations ofthe opening when pouring contents from the bottle 100.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the central opening 180 is shown with a cap 190received thereon. The cap 190 may be a standard construction and mayinclude, for example, a breakaway tamper evident portion 192. It will beappreciated that the cap 190 has internal threads or thread portions(not shown) that cooperate with corresponding threads or thread portions194 (FIGS. 3-4) provided on the exterior of the bottle 100 around theopening 180. Once the bottle 100 has been filled through the opening180, the cap 190 is received over the opening to close the opening andmay be used with or without, for example, a gasket liner for sealing theopening until the user removes the cap from the bottle. The lower wall112 includes a central recess 196 (shown here in FIGS. 3, 4, 7, and 8)that extends upwardly (in the general shaped of an arch) from theremainder of the perimeter of the lower wall. The central recess 196 isdimensioned for at least partial receipt of the cap 190 of an adjacentbottle 100 when the bottle is stacked on its side as will be describedfurther below.

The opening 180, and more particularly the cap 190 received thereon,defines the uppermost portion of a filled bottle 100. Since the cap 190has a relatively small surface area, and because the remainder of theupper wall 110 drops away from the central opening 180 and merges intothe respective sidewalls 102, 104, 106, 108, this design of the bottleis not conducive to stacking bottles one atop the other in a verticalorientation to transfer load from an upper row of bottles to a lower rowof bottles (or to a pallet). However, the contour of the sidewalls 104,108, and the generally enlarged planar regions 140, 142 of the first andthird sidewalls 102, 106, respectively, allows the filled bottles to bepositioned in a stacked array and conveniently shipped in such a stackedform on, for example, a pallet 200 (FIGS. 9-10). The above-describedcontours of the bottles provide for interlock between adjacent bottlebottles in a row or layer of the stacked array.

Particularly, as shown in FIG. 7, adjacent bottles are stacked on thesame sidewall, namely either the first or third sidewall 102, 106. Theconvex surface portion 120 4B of the left-hand bottle in FIG. 7 isreceived in the concave surface portion 122 of the right-hand bottle.Likewise, the convex portion 120 a of the right-hand bottle is receivedin the concave surface portion 126 of the left-hand bottle. The bottlesare moved toward one another until they are brought into abutting orsubstantially abutting relation. The respective concave and convexsurface portions interlock one bottle to an adjacent bottle and limitsrelative sliding movement therebetween in a generally planar directiongenerally extending between the upper and lower surfaces 110, 112 whenthe bottles are laid on their sides as shown in FIGS. 9-11.

Further, the intercooperation between the cap 190/opening 180 of theupper surface 110 of one bottle with a recess 196 in the lower surface112 of an adjacent bottle shows a second manner of interlocking adjacentbottles together to prevent relative sliding movement therebetween(again, when the bottles are laid on their sides, and layers ofinterlocked bottles are stacked one layer atop another (FIGS. 9-11),although the sliding movement is along a direction generally extendingbetween the second and fourth sidewalls of the bottles. As shown in FIG.8, the opening 180/cap 190 of one bottle is at least partially receivedwithin the recess 196 of the adjacent bottle.

With continued reference to FIGS. 7-8, and additional reference to FIGS.9-11, the benefits of the contoured bottles are shown in a stacked array210 on pallet 212. Each of the bottles is filled (preferably underpressure, e.g., about 0.5 psi) and laid on one of the first and thirdsidewalls 102, 106 of the bottle. By way of example, and with referenceto the uppermost layer 214 of the stacked array 210, fourteen filledbottles are oriented in the same direction to form two rows 216 of sevenbottles each. Locking between contiguous second and fourth sidewalls104, 108 of adjacent bottles 100, respectively, is achieved by orientingeach of these bottles in the same direction in the layer. Further, theopenings 180/caps 190 of the bottles 100 in the first row 216 a arereceived in respective recesses 196 in the bottles of the 216 b tofurther lock the bottles in these two rows against relative slidingmovement. Three rows 218 of filled bottles 100 are laid on one of thefirst and third sidewalls 102, 106 of the bottle. Fifteen filled bottles100 are oriented in the same direction to form three rows 218 a, 218 b,218 c of five bottles each. As is evident in FIGS. 9-11, the bottles 100in rows 216 a, 216 b are rotated 90° relative to the bottles in rows 218a, 218 b, 218 c. Locking between contiguous second and fourth sidewalls104, 108 of adjacent bottles 100 is achieved by orienting each of thesebottles in the same direction in the layer. The openings 180/caps 190 ofthe bottles 100 in the first row 216 a are received in respectiverecesses 196 in the bottles of the 216 b to lock the bottles in thesetwo rows against relative sliding movement. In addition, the openings180/caps 190 of the bottles 100 in row 216 b abut against the sidewalls150 of the bottles in row 218 a. As a result, greater stability isprovided in each layer since each bottle 100 is locked against relativemovement in two, perpendicular directions within the plane of the layervia interengagement with adjacent bottles. As is also evident in FIGS.9-11, alternating layers of the stacked arrangement are preferablyrotated 90° relative to one another. This, too, adds further stabilityto the stacked array 210. Although eleven layers of pressurized, filledbottles are illustrated in the stacked array 210, one skilled in the artwill appreciate that a greater or lesser number of individual bottles ineach row, in each layer, and total bottles in the stacked array may beused without departing from the scope and intent of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 12-14 illustrate that the features of the first embodiment ofFIGS. 1-11 may be incorporated into different volume bottles. Likereference numerals are used to refer to like components with a primedsuffix (e.g., bottle 100 in FIGS. 1-11 is now referred to as bottle100′). By way of example, the fluid volume stored in each bottle 100 inthe embodiment of FIGS. 1-11 may be 96 ounces. In the illustratedstacked array 210, there are twenty-nine bottles 100′ in each layer, andeleven layers stacked on the pallet for a total of three hundrednineteen bottles (which is 239.25 total gallons). In the embodiment ofFIGS. 12-14, the fluid volume in each bottle 100′ is one hundredtwenty-eight ounces, there are again twenty-nine bottles in each layerbut only eight total layers stacked on the pallet. As a result, thestacked array 210′ has a total of two hundred thirty-two bottles (whichis a total of two hundred thirty-two gallons).

By orienting the bottle on their sides in the stacked orientation, eachbottle layer has a sort unbraced length which provides desired increasedstrength and stability to the individual bottles and to the stackedarray.

In summary, the present disclosure provides a unique bottle thatincludes a center pour opening. This location of the pour openingadvantageously meets with user expectation, and what users areacclimated to. The center pour opening also allows the plastic blowmolded bottle to be filled on a traditional filler which can furtherreduce costs. The configuration of the bottle allows like bottles to beeasily stacked together. The contoured profiles of adjacent bottlesinterlock to prevent relative sliding movement between abutting bottlesin at least one direction, and preferably two directions that areperpendicular to one another. An enlarged substantially planar region isprovided on at least two of the sidewalls to accommodate an enlargedlabel area desired for marketing and consumer information. The ergonomichandle preferably has a no pass handle for lower manufacturing cost. Thehandle is also particularly applicable for use as a pressure vessel andthe contoured handle easily adapts to lock in the hand of a user whileproviding a comfortable fit. The bottle can also be scaled-up andscaled-down to accommodate different fluid volumes. The locking featuresbetween adjacent bottles by interfitting contiguous, abutting surfacesin the stacked array results in a tied pallet for added strength.Further, the bottle contours and the ability to pressurize the fluidcontent of the bottles also adds additional strength. The interlockingcontours tie the pallet together and remove the need for slip sheets(e.g., corrugate sheet that it typically included in the stacked arrayto add stability). Elimination of the slip sheets/corrugate layerreduces cost associated both with the material itself, waste, and thehandling/labor associated with use of a slip layer. Moreover, it isknown that the slip sheet/corrugate layer loses strength if wet-which isa distinct possibility when handling fluid product. As a result of theinterlocking contours of the pressurized bottles that are laid on theirsides in a stacked array, when the perimeter of the stacked array iswrapped, for example with a plastic shrinkwrap, the pallet with thestacked array of pressurized fluid bottles has desired strength andstability for stacking, shipping, and distribution. Removal of the wrapfrom the stacked array also does not impact the ability for the stackedarray to maintain its shape and stability when consumers removeindividual bottles. It will also be appreciated that the drawings shouldbe evaluated together so that features omitted or included in onedrawing and not in another drawing, do not preclude use of such featuresin one drawing from being used with the features in another drawing. Forexample, structural details of the handle are removed from FIGS. 3, 7,and 8 for ease of illustration. Still another advantage associated withstacking of the bottles on their sidewall is that the unbraced length ofthe bottle (measured as the height between the first and thirdsidewalls) is substantially less in comparison to stacking bottles in avertical orientation which has an elongated unbraced length (measured asthe height between the upper wall and the lower wall). A shorterunbraced length likewise adds strength and rigidity to the stackedarray.

In a preferred embodiment, the bottle has dimensions as follows: thebottle is about 9.5 inches tall (measured between the upper wall 110 andthe lower wall 112) and has a width of 4 inches (measured between thefirst and third sidewalls 102, 106), and a length of about 6.5 inches(measured between the front and rear sidewalls 104, 108). This computesto an unbraced length-to-height value of 2.375 (9.5 inches divided by 4inches), and such length-to-height value is preferred to be about 2.5 orless.

Moreover, the plastic bottle is a thin wall structure that has only 90grams of plastic used in a 96 ounce container, i.e., a lowweight-to-volume ratio (e.g., uses only 90 grams of PET for a 96 ouncecontainer—less than 0.94 g/oz) which is approximately one-third theweight-to-volume ratio found in other plastic containers used in themarket. Because the container of the present disclosure is pressurized(about 0.5 psi), and the containers are stacked on their sides (a shortunbraced length), effective stacking on pallets is still achieved alongwith desired stability provided by the mating surfaces of the adjacentcontainers that interlock the bottles. Further, the corrugate/cardboardslip sheets provided between layers of stacked product is alsoadvantageously eliminated because of the interlocked arrangement, all ata cost savings associated with material, labor, and associated waste.

This written description uses examples to describe the disclosure,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to make and use the disclosure. The patentable scope of thedisclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples thatoccur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended tobe within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements thatdo not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal language of the claims. Moreover, this disclosure isintended to seek protection for a combination of components and/or stepsand a combination of claims as originally presented for examination, aswell as seek potential protection for other combinations of componentsand/or steps and combinations of claims during prosecution.

It is claimed:
 1. A container for fluid product comprising: a one piecebody having first, second, third, and fourth sidewalls, an upper surfaceand a lower surface, the first and third sidewalls separated by thesecond and fourth sidewalls, the second and fourth sidewalls havingnon-planar, parallel conformations that each include a convex surfaceportion that merges into an adjacent concave surface portion.
 2. Thecontainer of claim 1 further comprising a handle formed at least in partby a cylindrical portion that is dimensioned to conform to a generallyC-shape contour formed by a user's thumb and index finger when thefingers of a user's hand are stretched and shaped over a virtualhemispherical surface.
 3. The container of claim 2 wherein acircumferential region of the cylindrical portion of the handle mergestangentially into the fourth sidewall.
 4. The container of claim 2wherein the handle further includes depressions formed in the first andthird sidewalls that are spaced inwardly from the fourth sidewall. 5.The container of claim 4 wherein the handle is a no pass structure. 6.The container of claim 5 wherein the convex first portion and theconcave second portion on the second sidewall are opposite from theconcave first portion and the convex second portion on the fourthsidewall, respectively, whereby adjacent, like containers interlockagainst relative sliding movement in a direction oriented between theupper and lower surfaces.
 7. The container of claim 1 wherein the convexfirst portion and the concave second portion on the second sidewall areopposite from the concave first portion and the convex second portion onthe fourth sidewall, respectively, whereby adjacent, like containersinterlock against relative sliding movement in a direction orientedbetween the upper and lower surfaces.
 8. The container of claim 7wherein the convex first portion and the concave second portion on thesecond sidewall are opposite from the concave first portion and theconvex second portion on the fourth sidewall whereby abutting second andfourth sidewalls of adjacent, like containers interlock against relativesliding movement in a direction oriented between the upper and lowersurfaces.
 9. The container of claim 8 further comprising a recessedregion in the lower surface dimensioned to at least partially receive acenter pour opening or cap of the upper surface of an adjacent likecontainer whereby abutting upper and lower surfaces of adjacent, likecontainers interlock against relative sliding movement in a directionoriented between the second and fourth sidewalls.
 10. The container ofclaim 1 further comprising a recessed region in the lower surfacedimensioned to at least partially receive a center pour opening or capof the upper surface of an adjacent like container whereby abuttingupper and lower surfaces of adjacent, like containers interlock againstrelative sliding movement in a direction oriented between the second andfourth sidewalls.
 11. The container of claim 1 wherein adjacentcontainers are arranged in layers and layers stacked one atop another bylaying individual containers on either the first and third sidewallswhere at least two laterally adjacent containers interlock alongabutting second and fourth sidewalls, and at least two longitudinallyadjacent containers interlock along the upper and lower surfaces. 12.The container of claim 11 wherein at least some of the individualcontainers in contiguous layers are oriented 90 degrees relative to oneanother.
 13. The container of claim 11 wherein the containers in astacked array are each pressurized.
 14. The container of claim 11wherein upper surface is laterally offset from the bottom surface. 15.The container of claim 1 wherein the upper surface is laterally offsetfrom the bottom surface.
 16. The container of claim 1 further comprisinga handle formed at least in part by a cylindrical portion, and wherein acircumferential region of the cylindrical portion of the handle mergestangentially into the fourth sidewall.
 17. The container of claim 16wherein the upper surface is laterally offset from the bottom surface.18. The container of claim 17 wherein the convex first portion and theconcave second portion on the second sidewall are opposite from theconcave first portion and the convex second portion on the fourthsidewall, respectively, whereby adjacent, like containers interlockagainst relative sliding movement in a direction oriented between theupper and lower surfaces.
 19. The container of claim 18 wherein thecircumferential region of the cylindrical portion of the handle thattangentially merges into the fourth sidewall is located in that portionof the fourth sidewall that has a convex contour.
 20. The container ofclaim 1 further comprising a handle formed at least in part by acylindrical portion that is dimensioned to conform to a generallyC-shape contour formed by a user's thumb and index finger when thefingers of a user's hand are stretched and shaped over a virtualhemispherical surface, wherein the circumferential region of thecylindrical portion of the handle that tangentially merges into thefourth sidewall is located in that portion of the fourth sidewall thathas a convex contour.